Letters to the Editor - The Durango Herald

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MAGAs look to the past

“Moving on with an eye to the future that is a blank slate” and “forgetting the past” is the MAGAspeak equivalent to Kevin Roberts saying the country is in the midst of a “second American Re...

DATE: Nov 19, 2024 | CATEGORY: Letters to the Editor

Good manners go a long way

Good manners go a long way. When I first ran for the Legislature in 2016 against incumbent J. Paul Brown, I won by the narrowest of margins. He called me on election night to concede, with a...

DATE: Nov 19, 2024 | CATEGORY: Letters to the Editor

Moving forward in 2025

As we move forward together as Americans in 2025 with a new administration, I hope that those of us who desire to end the rights of others will first take the time to get to know at least on...

DATE: Nov 16, 2024 | CATEGORY: Letters to the Editor

If you thought Biden was bad ...

Attention, Democrats: For 30 years between 1986 and 2016, middle-class workers feel they’ve been left behind and ignored. During that period, consumer prices went up 86%, but workers’ wages ...

DATE: Nov 16, 2024 | CATEGORY: Letters to the Editor

Time to move on from election

The election is over. The results were definitive. It’s time for The Durango Herald and the editorial staff to move on with an eye to the future, unburdened by events of the past. Today, we ...

DATE: Nov 16, 2024 | CATEGORY: Letters to the Editor

Election was a disaster

After living in the U.S. for 34 years, most of that time in Durango, I became a U.S. citizen last year. I was so proud and eager to cast my vote in this so important election. What a disaste...

DATE: Nov 16, 2024 | CATEGORY: Letters to the Editor

‘Resist the resistance’ is ironic

I found Mike Sigman’s letter about “resisting” (Herald, Nov. 15) ironic. From a guy who uses the liberal Durango Herald every 30 days to publish his opinions. I suppose he has canceled his s...

DATE: Nov 16, 2024 | CATEGORY: Letters to the Editor

Fluoridation facts haven’t changed

So now we are going to have to relive the fluoridation controversy of 2017, when the system was overwhelmingly supported? Facts haven’t changed. I grew up in Washington, D.C., where fluorid...

DATE: Nov 16, 2024 | CATEGORY: Letters to the Editor

‘Despairalyzed’ by election results

I just came across the word “despairalyzed” to describe my feelings since learning the results of the recent election. I am at the bottom of a deep pit despairing of the direction of this co...

DATE: Nov 16, 2024 | CATEGORY: Letters to the Editor

Who will Polis protect us from?

Gov. Jared Polis has vowed that he is going to protect Colorado from the Republican administration. Why didn’t he protect us against the incompetencies of the Democrat administration? When ...

DATE: Nov 16, 2024 | CATEGORY: Letters to the Editor

Paving work appreciated

For those of you who worked on paving County Road 240, you did a great job. Your efforts are greatly appreciated by those of us who drive it daily. The weather was pretty lousy some days, an...

DATE: Nov 15, 2024 | CATEGORY: Letters to the Editor

International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day is Nov. 23

On Saturday, Nov. 23, La Plata Community will come together to observe International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day. This annual event, coordinated by the American Foundation for Suicide Prev...

DATE: Nov 15, 2024 | CATEGORY: Letters to the Editor

Photos: People’s MarchAbout 300 people take to the street on Saturday in Durango

About 300 people take to the street on Saturday in Durango

Photos: Fort Lewis College basketballWomen’s and men’s basketball teams take on South Dakota Mines

Women’s and men’s basketball teams take on South Dakota Mines

Photos: Wrestling at Durango High SchoolDurango High School boys wrestling beat Bayfield High School Tuesday night

Durango High School boys wrestling beat Bayfield High School Tuesday night

Photos: Where there's smoke there's firefightersDurango firefighters take advantage of the old River City Hall building for training

Durango firefighters take advantage of the old River City Hall building for training

Photos: Durango plays Montezuma-Cortez in boys, girls high school basketballDurango girls and boys basketball teams defeat Montezuma-Cortez at DHS

Durango girls and boys basketball teams defeat Montezuma-Cortez at DHS

Year in photos: A look back at Southwest Colorado in 2024Each year brings some of the new and some of the old – breaking news and cherished traditions. It is the people, their emotions, different cultures and varied forms of entertainment that make for impactful images. Add to that Southwest Colorado’s gorgeous scenery, abundant wildlife and range of weather events, and you have the makings for stunning photos. We hope you enjoy Photo Editor Jerry McBride’s photos from 2024.

Each year brings some of the new and some of the old – breaking news and cherished traditions. It is...

Montezuma County DA Christian Hatfield charged with DWICharges come 16 weeks after crash near Farmington, New MexicoMontezuma County District Attorney Christian Hatfield was charged Friday with driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs 16 weeks after he crashed his SUV on U.S. Highway 64 outside Bloomfield.The San Juan County Sheriff’s Office charged Hatfield, 59, with petty misdemeanor charge of DWI and an open container in connection to the Aug. 30 single-car crash.The charges come after results from a blood test by the New Mexico Department of Health Scientific Laboratory showed alcohol and a drug in Hatfield’s body after the crash.

“The results show that at the time of the blood draw, which was approximately eleven hours after the time of the crash due to medical issues, were 0.05 g/100 ml of Ethanol and 0.04 mg/L of Zolpidem (Ambien). Both Ethanol and Ambien are Central Nervous System Depressants,” the law enforcement report states.Two vials of blood were taken from Hatfield at 1:33 p.m. Aug. 30, which was more than 12 hours after the crash occurred about 1 a.m. Those vials were received by the New Mexico Department of Health Scientific Laboratory at 10:26 a.m. Oct. 11, which was six weeks after the crash, according to records from the lab.An investigation into the blood warrant by The Journal newspaper in Cortez, Colorado, showed that the blood sample sat in a refrigerator at the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office until Oct. 3, because paperwork to send it to the state laboratory was not processed.“I think it’s a non-prosecutable case because of all the errors made by law enforcement,” said Arlon Stoker, a high-profile defense attorney secured by Hatfield to fight the charges.

The charges made by the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office are “based on the observations made by law enforcement officers on scene and the presence of intoxicating drugs and liquors in Christian's blood,” according to the report that was given to The Journal by the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government.Amanda Lavin, legal director for NMFOG, assisted The Journal in accessing public records from the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office in Aztec. The records had been redacted, leaving out Hatfield’s name and information about the blood warrant filed in San Juan County Magistrate Court.Public records requests by The Journal and the Tri-City Record went unresolved for 14 weeks.The Journal requested body camera footage and lapel camera video on Sept. 3.The Tri-City Record requested any and all warrants, investigative reports and laboratory reports as well as photos, lapel cam videos and dash cam videos on Oct. 23.On Dec. 9, Lavin made the same requests.

The Journal received access to photos and videos in an email on Dec. 19, and Lavin, after making a legal argument for unredacted information, received the full report Dec. 19 and was advised that charges would be forthcoming.The report detailing the crash states that Hatfield was found “unresponsive and barely able to stand” about 1 a.m. Aug. 30 near the intersection of U.S. Highway 64 and County Road 5099.Investigators and medics noted a “pungent” odor of alcohol coming from Hatfield, and investigators found “an open 12-ounce can of Mexican Lager with residual liquid inside,” an “empty wine glass,” and a “bottle of Ambien prescribed to Christian,” according to the report.The affidavit for search warrant for blood submitted by sheriff’s deputy Avery Killifer states he had an “opinion that the defendant was driving under the influence of intoxicating liquor or a controlled substance.” The deputy “placed the defendant under arrest” at the time, but Hatfield was taken to San Juan Regional Medical Center, because of “extensive injuries.”A summons was issued for Hatfield, and an arraignment is set for 8:30 a.m. Jan. 8 in Aztec Magistrate Court.

Charges come 16 weeks after crash near Farmington, New Mexico